Opening the biannual Opec International Seminar in Vienna on Jul. 9, Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais flagged up “a lot of surprises” to be unveiled in Opec’s 2025 World Oil Output (WOO) report to be released on Thursday.
Talk is that the 2025 WOO will see a further hike in Opec’s already bullish long-term oil demand forecast.
Based on its 2024 WOO, Opec is well ahead of the pack in predicting that oil demand will continue to increase out to 2050, hitting 120 million barrels per day by the midcentury mark and up from 103.8 million b/d for 2024. Major oil companies and forecasting agencies typically don't predict peak demand exceeding 110 million b/d, even if they share Opec's view that the peak is still a ways off.
“Peak demand … that is gone … no one is talking about that anymore,” Suhail al-Mazrouei, energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, Opec’s No. 4 producer, told the seminar.
At least as far as the industry is concerned, the sentiment is on point.
